Steven Salazar

Name: Esteban "Steven" Rivas Salazar

Gender: Male

Age: 17

Grade: 12

School: Aurora High School

Hobbies and Interests: Journalism, watching baseball games, photography, gossip, classical music

Appearance: Steven Salazar is small for his age, barely scraping 5'4" and weighing 125 pounds. He has a face that is a bit too narrow to be considered handsome, especially considering his somewhat pronounced cheekbones, which can make him appear almost gaunt. Steven keeps his dark brown hair short and well-combed, parted on the left side of his head. His nose is fairly thin, and his ears are small. Steven's deep brown eyes lie beneath thick, bushy eyebrows. His skin tone is slightly on the dark side, even given his Hispanic ancestry. He generally has a clear complexion, rarely breaking out and suffering only mildly on those occasions when he does.

Steven prides himself on being able to project the right appearance for the right occasion, dressing for adaptability and versatility. He normally wears a button down, long-sleeved white shirt and black jeans, giving him the ability to alter the formality of his appearance by tucking his shirt in or rolling the sleeves up. He also tends to wear a somewhat-battered black duffle coat, though he removes it and carries it over his arm or stows it most of the time when inside. If he knows he's going to be conducting more formal interviews, Steven makes sure to wear a blazer instead; similarly, if he's going to be writing a feature on a specific club or activity, he tries to dress appropriately for it. Steven favors boxers over briefs. For the most part, he chooses unpatterned boxers, preferring darker, cooler colors like blues or greens, occasionally foraying into blacks. He is very particular about the brand, having bought only one brand for the past five years, because they are suitably supportive without being tight enough to ride up, even on the occasions when he jogs.

On the day of the abduction, Steven was wearing black jeans, a long-sleeved white button down, his duffel coat, and black tennis shoes.

Steven always stands straight, and, whenever possible, walks with unhurried, measured strides, trying to portray an air of confidence and ease with everything his does. He speaks loudly and enunciates clearly, without any discernible accent.

Biography: Steven Salazar was born on June 23, 1994. His parents, Raoul and Caroline, were both from families with long histories in Seattle and Latin American roots (predominantly Mexican, with a bit of Puerto Rican mixed in). Steven was their third child, respectively two and four years younger than his older brothers, Victor and Elias. He was named after his paternal grandfather, who died of lung cancer a few months before Steven's birth. His other grandparents all remain alive today.

Steven was a very outgoing child. He grew up in relative comfort. While his family was solidly on the bottom edge of middle class, his parents made sure that their children always received the best the family could offer. They were both creative and involved, spending a lot of time with their children. Because they believed that early exposure to television could be harmful to children, Steven grew up without TV until around his eighth birthday. This meant that he spent most of his free time running around, playing with other kids, and using his imagination.

Steven also greatly enjoyed preschool and elementary school. As he was only two years younger than Victor, the boys often attended the same schools, and Steven spent as much time as possible glued to his brother, who he idolized. Of the Salazar children, Victor was the quietest and most reserved, standing in contrast to the athletic Elias. Victor was always willing to put up with Steven hanging around, but typically engaged his younger brother in quiet activities, including reading and writing. Victor and Steven would often sit for hours, playing pretend and telling each other stories.

Steven made many other friends as well. He never took to sports or other athletic activities, but he was easygoing and able to joke around with other kids quite well. He was assertive and confident without being overbearing. While he was never a leader, Steven was also never pushed around or peer pressured, due to his strong sense of self. This rubbed some kids the wrong way, and he was involved in his share of arguments, though these never escalated into physical conflicts, in no small part because Steven was always a small boy. He did develop something of a temper and a sharp tongue, never picking on people but never taking an insult quietly, either.

Because he had such a wide range of friends, and because his brother was friends with many of Steven's classmates' older siblings, Steven had an easy time learning gossip. Unlike most of his friends, he took an interest in it, trying to understand what made his classmates tick. Steven never used what he heard about his peers against them, even while angry, because he knew that doing so would compromise his reputation and make him less likely to be able to learn new things. He did, however, sometimes take solace in unflattering information about those who wronged him, whether it was correct or not.

Steven's interest in his peers' business grew as he did. By middle school, he was getting along with most people, ignoring the rest, and had established himself as a willing confidante to most of his close friends, listening and offering advice when requested.

It was also upon entering middle school that Steven picked up several of his other hobbies. He took an interest in the news, particularly the newspaper. Initially he simply read the comics, but, with his television access still largely restricted by his parents, the news became Steven's source of information in the world. He found that he could impress his teachers by being well-educated about current events. He was also fascinated with the occasional inaccuracies in the paper, realizing that what people were told in some cases mattered more than what was actually true. Steven began to write in a diary, chronicling his school life in as objective a fashion as he could. While his dedication was intermittent at best, the process helped him improve his grammar and writing skills, until he ended up near the top of the class in English.

It was also during middle school that Steven became aware of his sexuality. As puberty hit, he found himself attracted to his male classmates. Steven and his parents had always had a close relationship, so, after discussing his feelings with Victor, he approached them. While Steven had been raised loosely Christian, his family was on the whole quite liberal, and accepted his orientation with no notable drama. The exception was his maternal grandparents, who were cut from more traditional cloth. Initially, they gave Steven a very cold reception, expressing hope that he would change his mind as he matured and repent. This resulted in significant strife within the family for several years, and while his grandparents eventually loosened their opinions, Steven's relationship with them still remains somewhat strained, as he has not entirely forgiven their past actions towards him.

It wasn't long before Steven came out at school as well, and while he has occasionally been the target of an some unpleasantness, he found that Seattle was by and large a decently liberal place, so it was not hard for him to figure out who his true friends were and find a close circle of accepting and supportive peers. Steven was also fairly skilled when it came to snappy comebacks, and his temper meant he was unlikely to let wrongs against him pass unaddressed. Because of this, most of his intolerant classmates learned that he was anything but easy pickings and left him alone.

During gym class, Steven grew to appreciate several sports. His favorite was baseball, though he was absolutely terrible at it. He liked the teamwork required for the game, though, and soon was reading the sports section of the paper just as closely as the news, following the Seattle Mariners, even when their performance was less than inspiring. Games are one of the few things he actively tries to catch on television.

As he entered high school, Steven made more friends than ever before. He kept up with school gossip whenever possible, continuing to advise his friends when he could. He also finally was able to get involved in a school paper. Steven joined the Aurora newspaper freshman year, and has been an active member ever since. Steven handles occasional features, as well as a gossip column. What he publishes in the latter, however, is more speculation about changes to school programs or policies, as well as humorous and clearly false rumors about celebrities and sports figures. A large part of Steven's writing style is inspired by one of his journalistic heroes, Hunter S. Thompson. Steven was exposed to Thompson's works right at the start of high school, and grew to greatly respect and appreciate the idea that journalists can be a part of the material they cover. He does not, however, approve of Thompson's drug experimentation, believing that drugs are harmful and a problem in society, an opinion he expresses fairly frequently in his writings.

While Steven prefers to write in a very loose, personal fashion, he is more than capable of conducting himself with professionalism and writing in a more classic news fashion when required. He has started a blog that updates sporadically, musing on current events and his own life. As part of his work on his blog, Steven has taken up photography, though he is not very good at it. When working with the school paper, he prefers to rely on the talents of the numerous skilled staff photographers.

Steven remains very close to his family. He is very open and communicative with his parents, and even actively keeps in touch with his extended family, some of whom read his blog. He also keeps in contact with his brothers when possible, though both live away from home. Elias is currently serving in the military, while Victor is working and attending community college, studying biology.

Steven hopes to attend college himself, and has made a concerted effort to achieve good grades in all of his classes. While English is by far the easiest for him, Steven is an intelligent boy, and school is on the whole not particularly challenging for him. Even in science, which he struggles with more than any other class, his grades have not dropped below a mid-B since sophomore year. While studying or writing, Steven likes to play classical music, which helps him concentrate. He enjoys the music overall, marveling at how emotional a work of art can be without resorting to words. Steven often attends school orchestra performances, and greatly admires those classmates who participate in them, though he has never made any effort to learn an instrument himself.

Steven's social group is very large. He has friends in most of the cliques, and makes an effort to visit most clubs and sports teams on paper business. For the most part, though, he is closest to friends he's known for a long time and to his fellow journalists. He cares deeply about his friends, and always tries to make time to participate in activities that are important to them. He is also always available to give advice or provide a sympathetic ear to people who are having problems. Steven can be somewhat sarcastic, and is very opinionated on most subjects, and never misrepresents his views to ensure peace (though he does not attempt to provoke others and does not continue arguments once he decides that they are hopeless). His temper still causes some problems, as he does not tolerate people treating him poorly, and will loudly voice his displeasure if he feels he's being wronged. This has caused occasional issues with school staff, though Steven has never been punished more severely than with a reprimand as he does not start conflict or escalate beyond insults. There are some people who don't get along well with Steven due to run-ins in the past, but he tends to avoid people he dislikes wherever possible, so his life is relatively free of social drama.

Advantages: Steven is intelligent, social, and knows a lot about his classmates. While he doesn't really know anyone's dark secrets, his interest in his classmates, combined with his work for the newspaper, mean he can match just about any name to a face, and probably have a good idea about what social groups his classmates belong to.

Disadvantages: Steven is small and physically unimposing. He would not be challenging to overpower, even for somebody not in the best shape. While he is not without discretion, he can often let his temper get the better of him, escalating situations when they would be better left alone. Finally, Steven legitimately cares about people and wants the best for his friends, and will probably act in their benefit, which could prove quite disadvantageous for him.

Designated Number: Male student No. 025

Designated Weapon: Bayview Huskies Hockey T-Shirt

Conclusion: Snarky kid armed with a t-shirt. This isn't going to end well. Entertainingly maybe, but not well. - Elias Östberg

'The above biography is as written by MurderWeasel. No edits or alterations to the author's original work have been made.'

Evaluations
Handled by: MurderWeasel

Kills: None

Killed By: Katarina Konipaski

Collected Weapons:Bayview Huskies Hockey T-Shirt (designated weapon)

Allies:

Enemies:

Mid-game Evaluation:

Post-Game Evaluation:

Memorable Quotes:

Other/Trivia

 * Steven is tied with Maynard Francis Hurst, Sean Mulcahy, and Takeshi Yoshikawa for shortest boy in V5.

Threads
Below is a list of threads that contain Steven, in chronological order.

The Past:

Pre-Game:
 * The best way to establish a character is with a one-shot in the neighborhood, right?
 * The Party Was Over Then, Too
 * After the Battle
 * Pretend This Thread Title is a Witty Lyrical Reference
 * No One Talks About It

V5:
 * Should've actually thought up some thread titles before flipping the switch
 * The two people in the distance were Paulo and Becca
 * Messiah Complex/Eat Your Heart Out, B098
 * Memory
 * Loretta, My Darling
 * Memories of the City
 * Crushed Dreams and Broken Hearts

Your Thoughts
''Whether you were a fellow handler in SOTF or just an avid reader of the site, we'd like to know what you thought about Steven Salazar. What did you like, or dislike, about the character? Let us know here!''

I liked Steven. I think what really sells him for me though, compared to most characters I like for other reasons, was the death scene. It's actually kind of dark the more I think about it, and serves better as a really bitter moral: Just because you were willing to turn the other cheek at someone's wrongdoing, doesn't mean they'll stop, or that they won't hurt you anymore. At least, that's what I got out of it. -- Un-Persona